The Truth about Bulking: Permabulkers and Fat Makers Exposed

Selling lies to natural bodybuilders and naive teenagers looking to get big has been a lucrative investment for many fitness gurus. A lot of deception resides in the false idea that bulking a.k.a. force-feeding yourself leads to larger muscles.

The bulking method is backed by the idea that all big bodybuilders consume a large amount of food to support their musculatures. Of course, the experts strategically omit the fact that those men are using grams of anabolic steroids and carry a lot of lean mass that boosts their metabolisms significantly. In addition, many of the modern IFBB pros and fitness models also rely on T3, DNP, GH and other dangerous substances to lose body fat.

Consequently, when a natural tries the same approach, the result is a delusional fatso who is always “just 10lbs away from abs”. The reality, however, is that probably 40lbs or more have to be lost for a six-pack to show.

Below you will find basic facts that many permabulkers (guys who never stop bulking) have to understand.

FACT 1: FAT IS NOT MUSCLE

This should be obvious to most, but the increasing number of delusional followers of popular bulking diets says otherwise.

Many men consisting of 25% body fat still believe that they are just a few pounds away from leanness. Those individuals look big during the winter when everything hides under clothing, and the 40-inch gut is still a secret to the unaware. The clothes feel tight which leads the poor fellas to the wrong conclusion that incredible muscular growth is taking place.

Eventually, permabulkers reach the point when getting into their pants becomes problematic due to a big gut and a butt that looks like implants. For many, however, this is not the end.

“It’s all thanks to the squat,” they say and go to buy new jeans.

Sooner or later, however, the real moment of truth comes, and people have no choice but to admit the obvious – most bulking efforts result in fat gains.

FACT 2: YOU ARE FATTER THAN YOU THINK

A row of abs visible under favorable lighting does not mean that you are not fat. Many people are 25%BF but think they are 15%. When they get on a diet, the loss of weight starts to scare them. Sometimes they have to lose 30-40lbs to get down from 25% BF to something acceptable. Similar changes hurt the hearts of the brainwashed permabulkers.

The fat wannabe powerlifters on the Starting Strength forum are a good example. A lot of them are simply victims of defective information. They believe that they can weigh as much as professional lifters without taking steroids, but this is not possible unless sumo is your thing.

“Maybe I can break the powerlifting records naturally,” said Johnny while looking at the scale. The number was satisfying – 225 pounds. That put a smile on Little J’s face because his permabulking coach has once said to him that to become a competitive powerlifter, you need to “fill out your levers”. Little J was doing just that.

Of course, the permabulking coach had forgotten to tell Johnny that all professional powerlifters are taking anabolic steroids.

FACT 3: LIFTING HEAVY DOES NOT BURN MANY CALORIES

Many people believe that lifting for an hour burns an enormous amount of calories and provides you with an opportunity to eat pizza, pancakes, hot-dogs, cakes, and cheeseburgers without negative consequences. I am sorry but no. A lifting session does not burn more than 400-600 calories. For many even those numbers are optimistic.

This means that eating 100 grams of peanuts or a candy bar negate the caloric deficit after a hard workout with weights.

You can lift all the weights in the world, but if you are eating too much, you are still going to be a fatso no matter what.

FACT 4: NOBODY CARES ABOUT YOUR “STRENGTH”

Nobody cares whether your squat is 315lbs or 225lbs. You are still not breaking records. Who is stronger? The fat man that can squat 315 or the ripped version squatting 225? Obviously, the 315 squatter can move heavier weights, but the ripped version is more athletic and probably happier outside of the gym.

FACT 5: PEOPLE DOING P90X LOOK BETTER THAN YOU DO

Many people make fun of P90X. I am one of them. However, the P90X followers look better than the permabulkers who consider themselves hardcore just because they deadlift.

FACT 6: THE SQUAT AND THE DEADLIFT DO NOT EQUAL A STEROID SHOT

There is a common misconception that the squat and the deadlift stimulate an intense production of testosterone resulting in extraterrestrial growth. Dream on. You can do all the squats and deadlifts in the world. You are still not getting steroid-like results. This is a fact. Just look at the skinny fat martyrs paying homage to the squat and dead. Why aren’t they ripped and muscular?

FACT 7: EXCESS FAT DECREASES YOUR TESTOSTERONE

Higher body fat equals higher estrogen and low testosterone. When you are 20% body fat as a male, you can be certain that you have more estrogen than you need in your body. This is another evidence that overeating works against your goals. You can keep doing it, but do not forget to choose the right bra size for your moobs.

FACT 8: FAT DOES NOT COUNT

You can weigh as much as Arnold, but it matters not when you are 35% BF.

When was the last time you heard a girl say – “I really like the gut on that guy?”

FACT 9: YOU CANNOT RUN FROM REALITY

I did the same mistake. During my first bulk, I gained 48lbs/22kg in three months. Unsurprisingly, most of it was pure fat. My waist got up to 38 inches plus. Sadly, I didn’t gain much muscle.

As expected, I refused to see the damage, although other people were shaking their heads in disbelief. Did I increase my lifts? Of course, but when you have a fat gut that jiggles around the charm is lost. In short, I paid a lot of money for food (no junk) to get fat and look stupid.

At one point, reality hit me. I lost about 10lbs just by stopping the force-feeding fiasco. After that, I lost another 10lbs by adding a walk in the morning. Then, I lost 10lbs more by living on low calories. Ultimately, I went back to where I started, although I did look more muscular.

FACT 10: THE NUMBER ONE REASON FOR THE EXISTENCE OF FAT PEOPLE IS EATING TOO MUCH

The main reason why people get fat is excessive food consumption. Even if you have an active lifestyle, eating 10,000 calories will make you fat.

There are hundreds of diet plans out there, but they all share the same mechanism – caloric deficit.